A Moment to Dance
by paynesgrey
Summary: Sally decides to lighten everyone's mood with some music. Ensemble piece with implied Nora/Josh. End of Season 1 spoilers.


AN: Written for lotus0kid for her helpthesouth auction at Livejournal. This will not be continued.

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><p><span>A Moment to Dance<span>

After the confrontation with Bishop, things could have been a lot worse for them. Perhaps Josh and Aidan would disagree with her, but Sally, at least, felt somewhat relieved.

It was disconcerting, sure, that her door disappeared, but it disappeared because she rejected it to be with Josh and Aidan, because she cared about them. She'd come to resolve herself to this fact, even though she still had no idea what the afterlife had in store for her.

In the meantime, Sally enjoyed the new found powers of rejecting that door. Once, she couldn't move things with any sort of control, not small things, and definitely not things that didn't involve her unpredictable anger. She supposed she could still be bad-ass and poltergeist-out once in a while, but she had no reason to, not with Danny gone from her life.

Even better, Josh and Aidan didn't have to move things for her, like when she wanted to read the paper. Okay, so maybe she had taken some liberties with her recent powers, and she'd caught Josh's eye roll and Aidan's annoyed expression as she made too much coffee and moved their stuff around when she was only trying to clean up the place.

Despite her quirks, the three of them were getting along well, even though there was still a lot of anxiety and uncertainty in their lives. Sally might have been happy as part of their little supernatural unit, but the boys had their own internal struggles, something Sally was sure she'd help them with as much as she could.

Being content with her own afterlife, Sally noticed the boys' moods more. Lately, Josh had been nervously buzzing around the house. Sure, after what happened between him and Nora he'd be rightfully anxious, and thankfully, the woman had accepted him, fuzzy werewolf genes and all. However, Josh wouldn't be Josh without being worried about something. Frequently, he stared at the phone, waiting for Nora to call. Sally assumed he feared the worst, that Nora would change her mind about accepting him now that she knew he was a werewolf. Knowing how Josh felt about the wolf hindering him from having a normal life, Sally sympathized with his fears.

She tried to be encouraging, so she asked for cooking lessons from him. Josh was more than happy to oblige, and since Sally could hold and touch things; it was more possible for her to learn. Plus, it was a good distraction for him. Yes, he still glanced sporadically to the phone every once in a while, but when they both got caught up in the recipe, he actually became more focused and invigorated - his true self, Sally would like to believe.

Aidan, on the other hand, settled into periods of somber brooding. He had a lot on his mind; that was obvious enough. Not only did his maker's death weigh heavily on his heart and mind, Aidan spent each day looking over his shoulder in paranoia at the moment this ancient vampire the Dutch had spoken of would come visit him now that he was the leader over Boston.

He really didn't know quite what to do, and he wasn't the leader that Bishop was. Sally would say it seemed as if Aidan rejected the idea entirely, and when a stray vampire or two came to him seeking advice, he'd slam the door in their faces and threaten them to never visit his house again, to find another place for a meeting.

Aidan considered their house sacred, and he didn't want these vampires invading on his personal space, or catching a glimpse or scent of the people important to him. Sally couldn't help but feel a wave of affection in that, and when he told her that, she couldn't help herself, and she leaned over with a surprise hug, something Aidan described as being caught in a cold breeze.

Yet, despite Sally's attempt to cheer up or distract the boys, they still seemed to fall into their usual solitary ways, which sometimes made their house almost too lonely for Sally's tastes.

Sally floated around the house, watching them and making sure things were in order. Josh was happily cooking in the kitchen, and Aidan was lounging on the sofa reading a tattered old book. Sally supposed Aidan was reading something regarding the ancient vampires, a memento the Dutch left him that made her wonder if Aidan did intend to take this vampire leadership seriously, even though he'd been initially adamant to change his ways.

Josh started humming to himself, and as Sally became drawn to the melody, she realized just what they were missing - something that would undoubtedly bring them closer together, at least for now.

She grinned, feeling like a mischievous cat as she slid toward the stereo. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of it before? Now that she could touch things, she could listen to all the music she wanted to again.

For a moment, Sally stood in front of the large stereo, one of Aidan's pride and joys, and she tried to imagine how to run it. Fiddling with the knobs and buttons, she found it simple enough, and suddenly their house was filled with loud, emotive tones. Sally frowned.

"Well, that's just too emo," she said, and behind her, Aidan looked up from his book to watch what she was doing.

Instead, she found Sirius radio, and she easily flipped through the stations and found something with a happier, energetic beat. It reminded her of the times she used to bar hop with her girls, dancing to the hypnotic tones of Goldfrapp or Kylie Minogue.

Soon, a rocking beat filtered throughout their whole house, and Sally found herself dancing to the jams. She grinned at Aidan, whose eyes swept over her intrigued as she danced. She reached out her arms. "Come on! Dance with me, Aidan!"

"Oh my God, what is that noise?" hollered a voice behind her. Josh came out of the kitchen, donned in his favorite apron, looking mildly perturbed at her choice in music.

Sally didn't care. She held out a hand to him. "Come on! Dance!"

"Are you kidding? To this?" Josh scoffed.

"It isn't that bad," Aidan conceded, and Sally's grin must have been infectious because he was smirking. Josh looked at him forlornly, clearly outnumbered. Then, Aidan began moving his hips as Josh stared at him, taunting him to come join them.

Sally laughed at his dancing, and she admitted, Aidan was pretty good. She bet he broke a few hearts with those Ricky Martin hips. She spun over to Josh, grabbing his hands and pulling him forward.

"Come on!" She giggled, and Josh stood between them awkwardly, moving his head a little. Sally couldn't help herself as she snorted with another laugh.

"You can do better than that!" she yelled at him, and feeling pressured, Josh frowned as he broke out the Robot. Even Aidan laughed.

"You dance like such a dork," Sally commented, which made Josh promptly stop, his face flushed as he tried to duck back into the kitchen. Aidan, however, wouldn't suffer Sally's plea for dancing alone, and he grabbed Josh on the shoulders and steered him back.

"Uh-uh, you're not leaving me here to endure Lady Gaga by myself," Aidan told him, and Josh let out a big sigh.

"Josh, it's okay if you dance like a dork, as long as you have fun," Sally said, giving him a half hug as she bumped hips with him, well, as much as a ghost could.

"I was having fun in the kitchen," Josh bemoaned with a pout, and Sally rolled her eyes.

"But out here, we're together," Sally said simply, and she turned to Aidan and caught his thoughtful stare.

"So that was your plan," he said, and Sally shrugged lightly.

"You guys can be so depressing sometimes. It's a nice day, and I just wanted to cheer you up," Sally said with a huff.

"With bad pop music?" Aidan said, arching an eyebrow. Sally gave him a playful ghostly punch.

"No, with music, _just_music!" Sally said, and her tone softened. "The music I remember."

Sally felt weighted by a heavy pause at they both stared at her, realizing how she might have been feeling.

"Well, then," Josh said, clearing his throat. "Aidan, if you would, join me. I suppose it's back to dancing."

He started to groove, moving just as awkwardly as before. Sally fell into a fit of giggles. She watched as Aidan began to dance too, smiling as Josh continued to dance with all his heart. So there they were, with Josh and his awkwardness, Aidan with his smoothness, and Sally with her unbridled joy. All of them, finally enjoying a rare moment together, of feeling human and alive just once, when such times were so rare.

Cocking his head, Josh could hear their doorbell through the blaring music, and when Sally realized it too, she lowered the volume and fell beside Aidan as Josh eagerly answered the door.

Sally's eyes widened as Nora stood on their stoop, peering inside.

"Hi, Nora, I'm glad you could come," Josh said, anxious as usual. He grinned boyishly at her as she looked inside.

"Hi, wow, I could hear that music from the street. Having a party in here?" Nora asked, and Josh looked around outside to see if the neighbors were paying attention to their house. He looked relieved when no one was watching and glad that Sally's loud music didn't draw them some unwanted eyes.

"Ah, well..." he stammered, and lightly he drew Nora inside. "Come in, we were just... hanging out until you came."

"Hi, Nora," Aidan said, his arms crossing. He looked pointedly at Josh.

"Oh! Sorry, I asked her to join us for dinner. That's why I've been cooking," he said, giving Aidan a pleading look. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

"It's a surprise, but a good one," Aidan said, coming forward and drawing Nora into a hug.

"Okay, then," Nora said. "Glad to be welcomed." She turned to Josh with a raised brow.

"What?" he asked, his face paling when he assumed he did something wrong.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Nora asked, as her arms crossed when her gaze shifted to Sally.

"Wait! OH MY GOD! You can see me?" Sally yelled excitedly, startling Nora.

"Um, yeah, of course I can," Nora returned, a little freaked out by Sally's exuberance. "Why is that surprising?"

"It's just that normally people can't see Sally," Aidan said bluntly. "She's a ghost."

Nora's eyes widened as she stared at Sally. Sally waved and grinned as Nora moved toward her.

"No way," Nora said in awe.

"Hi! I'm the other roommate - sort of," Sally said, and she turned to Aidan. "I'm finding all sorts of freaky new powers after I missed my door, aren't I?"

Aidan nodded. "Makes sense." Sally bounced with celebration.

Nora shook her head. "Okay, I don't know what you just said, but hi, I'm Nora, Josh's girlfriend."

Aidan and Sally laughed, but Sally came forward and offered her hand. "I kind of already know that, but hi."

Nora took her hand, almost stunned by the cold touch on Sally's end. Sally gave her a warm smile as Nora looked at her bewildered. "Wow."

"So," Josh said loudly, clapping his hands together. "Shall we eat before the food gets cold?"

"Yes!" Nora said. "I'm starving." Josh took her hand and led her into the kitchen toward the table. Sally took a chair next to Nora, watching her with gleeful interest. Aidan sipped on a glass of Cabernet as Josh pulled out warm bread from the microwave.

"I have to say, Josh, you do keep some strange company," Nora said, as she began to eat her bread. Josh looked at her anxiously, and she smiled at him. "I guess I can get used to it."

Sally stared dreamily at them all, enjoying the company and thanking whatever Powers That Be for a special moment like this between the four of them. She wished for many more to come.

"Oh!" Sally called, as an idle thought occurred to her. She got so excited she jumped up and part of her phantom body stuck out through the table.

Josh groaned. "Okay, that's weird."

"What is it?" Aidan asked concerned, and Sally looked down at him with a smile that eased his worry.

"We forgot the music!" she said, bounding toward the living room.

"No pop music!" Josh and Aidan hollered after her at the same time, and Sally heard Nora's laughter follow their voices.

Surfing through the radio stations again, Sally heeded the boys' wishes and buzzed past the dance music. Finally, she settled on a light, soothing jazz melody that only enunciated their special evening now that Nora had joined them.

Sally closed her eyes and let the music soak through her essence. Nothing like this could ever be more perfect.

END


End file.
